


Into the Upside Down

by Ravenblossom



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Grief, Loss, M/M, Stranger Things AU, adult characters, aokaga - Freeform, mentions of child death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-03 17:20:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14000889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravenblossom/pseuds/Ravenblossom
Summary: Kagami and Aomine go into the upside down to find Kagami's son





	Into the Upside Down

**Author's Note:**

> Thought of this last week after rewatching Stranger Things. I put Kagami in Joyce's place and Aomine in Hoppers. Also, this goes with their alternative jobs. Kagami is a firefighter and Aomine is a police officer. Both are divorced. Kagami got custody of his sons after his wife left the family.

Aomine stood outside the portal next to Kagami, both wearing Hazmat suits. Kagami was ready to go and determined to find his youngest son. The only reason that they were given the opportunity was that Akashi used his influence to pull some strings to get them in there and… well those that ran the plant didn’t believe that they would survive.

“Kagami.” Aomine said. “You really shouldn’t go, you have another son… what if you die in there? You’re son would lose both his father and his brother.”

 It had been bothering him since they had arrived at the energy plant. The employees had informed them that anyone who entered the portal didn’t come back out alive.

Kagami had also been a mess that week. The town had thought he had lost his mind, after he declared that his son had been speaking to him through the lights and later when he took an ax to the walls inside his house.

Aomine had gotten a few calls that week to deal with him. He tried his best to be nonjudgemental, after all, he had lost a son too.

Besides, everything he said was right.

One conversation with a state trooper led Aomine to be suspicious about the boy’s death, and after and interrogation, he went to the morgue to discover that the body was a fake.

Kagami glared at him. “What if YOU die? Then who is going to save Kai?” He then had a pained expression on his face. “He doesn’t have much time left… I need to find him.”

Aomine nodded understanding. Kagami was more than capable, he was a firefighter, and now with his son in reach, there was a determination on his faced that Aomine hadn’t seen since they played basketball against each other in high school.

He still would have preferred to have had Murasakibara with him. He was strong both physically and mentally and he’d be the best at handling the Demogorgon’s as they were called. But good luck convincing him to leave his house.

Even Midorima would have been useful. He was smart enough to figure out how to navigate that other dimension. But Midorima was waiting at the hospital, intending to give the kid medical attention. He had however, provided them with Leo’s lucky item, two lion key chains, one for each, that they both carried with them.

They walked to the portal, pushing their way through the vines and into the upside down… as the kids called it.

The other side was a mirror image of the lab, only dark and cold and decaying. They both looked around unable to believe what they were seeing.

They then left to being their search, traveling through familiar terrain and keeping their senses heightened for anything that may try to kill them.

Kagami led them to his child’s hide out in the woods, a crudely built shelter made from wood with a blanket to cover the opening. He got down, crawled inside, but came back out disappointed.

“Don’t worry,” Aomine put his hand on his shoulder. “We’ll find him.”

And he wanted nothing more than to find the boy alive. It had hurt to see Kagami like this, grieving and broken. Kagami had once been his rival, and the only person who could ever beat him in a one on one. And they had also been friends.

After high school, Kagami had gone away to college and they lost touch. In that time, Aomine had gone to a local college, gotten married, had a child… and that child later died of cancer, and that led to his marriage falling apart.

About a year after his child’s death, Kagami moved back to town with his two sons after his divorce. Instead of going reconnecting with his old friend, Aomine kept his distance. The three would always be outside playing basketball… and it always made Aomine’s heart twitch when he would drive by while on patrol as he watched the three play… just like he and his son once had.

His kids were very good at the game, his older son Aki could jump as high as Kagami could in his high school and college days. And his younger son, Kai, he was shorter, being only twelve years old, but he could make three pointers and maneuver around his older sibling and made difficult shots.

Kai loved basketball. There was no bad person who love basketball. So Aomine had to find him.

They walked approaching Kagami’s house.

“Kai!” Kagami called out. His voice echoed through the upside down.

Aomine nudged him with his elbow. “Bakagami you’re going to get us killed.”

Kagami turned and got into his face. “I’m just trying to find my son!”

“I know…” Aomine said more gently. “But we’re not going to find him if you call a bunch of those monsters to us.”

Kagami slumped over and continued.

They passed the body of Kuroko daughter’s friend. They knew the girl was dead, the strange girl the kids had found had confirmed it. But it was still alarming to see her dead body, lying there half devoured and starting to decay.

They approached Kagami’s house. Kagami kicked the door open. Christmas lights still hung and it looked like there had been a fire in the hallway.

Kagami went straight to Kai’s room, but it was empty.

“Damn it!” He threw his hands down and cursed.

“Kagami…” Aomine slowly walked up to him. He had no idea what to do or say. “Let’s keep looking.”

Aomine searched the rest of the house but didn’t find the kid.

They left walking towards the woods where Kai and his friends would sometimes play. On the edge, a small body laid against a tree.

“Kai!” Kagami ran to him. He started to pick him up, but the boy was held down by a vine going into his mouth. “Wha.. what is this!”

Aomine grabbed the vine and started to pull, almost feeling sick as it slowly moved. Once it was out, Kai’s head rolled back and Kagami held him in his arms.

“Kai!” He put his hand to his mouth. Kagami froze and with what little light they had from their flashlights, Aomine saw the color leave his face. “He’s not breathing!”

Aomine pulled the hazmat suit over his head. If this kid had been breathing that air for a week, he could for a few hours.

“Lay him down on the ground!” Aomine ordered. He checked for a pulse and there was none. He started giving chest compressions. “Give him two breaths when I say so!”

Kagami knew CPR, but with the chance that his child was dead… Aomine knew he couldn’t think straight.

“Now!” He said and Kagami gave the breaths.

“Kai…” kagami spoke as Aomine continued the chest compressions.

 _Please be okay…_ Aomine thought as he continued.

Kagami gave two more breaths. There were tears running down his face. Seeing that, Aomine’s eyes started welling up as he started the chest compressions again. And then came a flashback…

_“Dad!” His six year old son ran to him as he walked in after work. He threw his arms around Aomine. “Can we go out and play some one on one?”_

_Despite being tired, Aomine smiled and took him outside. They played for what seemed like hours, until his wife called them both inside for dinner._

_They played everyday. His son quickly picked up his streetball moves. Already Aomine was imagining him being the ace for his high school team like he once was. Harasawa was still the coach and had no plans on retiring any time soon._

_Then one day while they were playing, his son collapsed. A trip to the doctor revealed that his son had cancer. Aomine promised him he would beat it._

He gave more chest compressions. Kai showed no sign of waking up. Kagami sat and stared, numb from what was likely to happen. Aomine had to give the next two breaths.

_He was with his son in the hospital, holding two tickets._

_“When you get out, we’re going to go watch the game.” It was his son’s favorite team for no other reason than that he liked the mascot._

_His son smiled, weak from the chemotherapy._

Those tickets still sat on his nigh stand, covered in dust. Two weeks later his son flat lined.

_He and his wife held each other as the hospital staff did CPR. It seemed like hours had passed by the time they declared him dead._

Desperately, Aomine started to hit Kai on the chest hard, nearly sobbing. He was exhausted and wouldn’t be able to continue much longer.

_Damn it wake up!_

And then Kai coughed.

“Kai?” Kagami said quietly. Aomine sat, completely numb, and watched as the child opened his eyes.

“Kai!” Kagami grabbed him into his arms and held him tight and started sobbing.

Aomine blinked still unable to believe what had happened. Tears were still falling. Kagami’s arm reached around him and he pulled him into the hug. Aomine wrapped his arms around both of them. They sat like that for minutes.

“We should go.” Aomine finally said.

Kagami nodded and picked up his son.

* * *

 

Kai spent two weeks in the hospital under the care of Midorima. Kuroko took his son there every day to visit. Kise bought him presents, and Murasakibara gave sweets. But Akashi beat them all by promising a trip to an amusement park that spring.

About a month later, Aomine visited Kuroko. Kuroko had always been the best friend he ever had. After his child had died, he had visited every night for years to comfort him. And after his marriage fell apart, Kuroko would let him stay the night if needed.

“He’s doing better?” Aomine finally brought up Kai. He had been thinking about Kagami and his family all that month.

Kuroko nodded smiling. “Yes, he went back to school last week. He’s going back to basketball practice today.”

“That’s good, that had to be traumatic.” Aomine sat back in his seat.

“Um Aomine-kun.” Kuroko began. “I think you should visit them.”

He eyed Kuroko? “Huh? I don’t know, I don’t want to bother them.”

Kuroko shook his head. “No I think they would like to see you.”

After work that next day, Aomine took Kuroko’s advice. As made his way up the driveway, he saw Kagami and his two sons playing basketball.

He sighed. And was about to drive away. But Kagami saw him.

“Aomine!” He ran over to greet him. His sons followed.

“Hi Kagami.” Aomine smiled and got out of his car. “Is everything going okay here?”  


Kagami nodded. “Yeah everything is getting back to normal… where have you been? We haven’t seen you in almost a month.”

“Um…” Aomine looked down. “I’ve just been busy.”

“Hey Aomine,” Aki stepped in front of Kagami holding the basketball. “Come play with us, we can have a two on two.”

“I don’t’ know….” He said looking down. It had been years since he had played the game that he loved. Once his son died the very thought of playing made him tear up.

“Come on, dad said that you were the best player when he was in high school.”

“Aki…” Kagami frowned at him but then looked back at Aomine. “But yeah you really should play. I heard you haven’t in years.”

He looked at the basketball net. It was true. After his son’s death, he couldn’t bring himself to play the game that he once loved over everything. It was all just too painful. But the basketball net just seemed to be calling to him.

“Alright.” Then he grinned. “But I’m on Kai’s team, we’re going to win.”

“I don’t think so,” Kagami said accepting the challenge.

It took him a bit go get back into the hang of the game, but soon his old streetball moves came back to him. He maneuvered around Kagami scoring points, making Kagami frustrated… it was like being in high school again.

He laughed quietly after he scored another point. It was always Kagami that made him enjoy the game again.

They played for hours, forgetting the score. The sun had set when they finally called it quits.

“I’m hungry.” Kai said.

Kagami held the basketball. “Alright, I’ll make us dinner.”

Taking that as his queue to leave, Aomine was about to say his goodbyes.

“Hey Aomine.” Kagami spoke before Aomine could say anything. He eyed the ground and then walked forward and grabbed his hand. “Um… would you like to have dinner with us?”

Aomine felt his face get red. During that game, it had felt so right being there with the three of them. And he wouldn’t have said it out loud when Kai had voiced that he was hungry, but he really didn’t want to leave. There had always been something about Kagami that made Aomine question things about himself. His passion for the game, his will to never give up, his comebacks when Aomine would ever trash talk him... he was just always happy when he was near him.

“Yes Kagami.” He squeezed his hand back.

“Aomine you’re staying!” Kai smiled. “Can you come over every day and play basketball with us?”

Aomine looked at Kagami who only nodded. “Yeah I think I can do that.”


End file.
